The Vizards
by Bstanton97
Summary: Ichigo has to deal with the Vizards causing trouble for him. Usually, he's on pretty good terms with the Vizards, so why are they causing trouble, and what do they want?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Ichigo awoke to the sound of tapping on glass. He sat up in bed and noticed what it was. There was Rukia, outside his window. By the look on her face he could tell she was impatient. Ichigo slid the window open and let her in.

"Hey." said Ichigo, "What's up?" Ichigo had no idea why Rukia was here, she was supposed to be in the Soul Society.

"Have you seen Orihime?" Rukia seemed very serious, much more than she usually was. There was definitely something wrong. "I was just about to pass through the senkaimon to the Soul Society and I stopped by her house to say goodbye. She wasn't there, so I checked at Urahara's shop and then came here."

"Wait, you weren't gonna say goodbye to me?"

"I was gonna but, um, uh... That's not important right now! Have you seen her or not?"

"How would I? I was sleeping, because it was NIGHTTIME!" Could Orihime have gone missing? Where was she?

Ichigo grabbed his Substitute Soul Reaper badge off of his desk and held it to his chest. A flash of light, then he was out of his human body and into his shinigami. His human body was lying on the floor, so he moved it to the bed. He taped a note to his bedroom door telling his family not to bother him because he was sleeping in late.

"Let's go!" Ichigo had no idea where to look, but they had to start somewhere.

They leaped out of Ichigo's bedroom window and started heading in the direction of Orihime's house. _We might be able to find some clues as to where she's disappeared to at her house, _thought Ichigo. _They might lead us to where she really is, and if she's okay._

They stepped down onto Orihime's front porch. The door was ajar, the hinges appeared bent. They walked inside and started looking around. Everything else seemed completely unharmed and ordinary.

"Rukia, was the door like that when you came before?" Ichigo couldn't understand how Rukia could have missed it when she came earlier.

"No, I looked all over the house and it wasn't like that before."

They walked back to the door to investigate. Rukia tried to track sources of Spiritual Pressure, but it was hard to find. Whoever it was came after Rukia, but not recently enough to trace Spiritual Pressure.

"How do we find her now? It doesn't make sense that someone would come after she was gone." said Rukia, "At least we know that someone's after her and that she's not just somewhere of her own accord."

"Yeah." said Ichigo, "But who's after her?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ichigo was sitting at his desk, thinking. _This doesn't make sense. Orihime goes missing and _then_ her house gets broken into? _Ichigo tapped a pencil against the desk. There was a scowl spread across his face.

"What's the matter, Ichigo?" He turned around in his chair, there was Yuzu. Why was she here? She was supposed to be at the soccer fields with Dad, watching Karin's game. "You seem upset."

"I'm fine, why aren't you at Karin's soccer game?"

"I wanted to stay home and take care of our clinic patient, oh, and I wanted to make you breakfast."

"There's a patient in the clinic?"

"Yes, he says he knows you."

"Who is he?"

"I asked, but he wouldn't say. But he did say that he needs to talk to you about something. The rest he mumbled, but I think I heard him say Orihime's name."

"What!" Ichigo jumped out of his chair. _Who's in the clinic? _Ichigo thought, _Does he know something about Orihime's disappearance? _"I'm going to go talk to him."

"Don't Ichigo, he's resting! Besides, I want you to eat the breakfast I made for you!"

Ichigo ignored Yuzu. He slipped past her and sprinted down the stairs. He could hear her footsteps patter on the steps behind him. Yuzu grabbed Ichigo's arm and tried to pull him back, but he just kept going.

The patient was lying on the bed, sleeping. At least, it looked like he was sleeping. As Ichigo got closer, he realized he was just pretending. He sat up when he heard Ichigo coming.

"Hello again, Ichigo Kurosaki." He was staring into the eyes of Shinji Hirako.

"Shinji?" _Why is he here?, _thought Ichigo. _I don't have time to deal with the vizards now, I need to find Orihime!_

"I came here to talk to you, Ichigo."

"I thought it was because you were injured."

"I pretended to be injured so I could come here without you chasing me off. Your sister wouldn't let you hurt an injured man. We vizards could heal our injuries by ourselves anyway. We don't need clinics like this one."

Shinji glanced beyond Ichigo's shoulder and stopped talking. Yuzu was standing in the doorway, looking concerned. She took a small step forward, then stopped. The expression on her face showed that she was scared.

"Ichigo, who is this man? What does he want with you? And what's a vizard?" Her voice was trembling.

"Yuzu, go back upstairs. He and I need to talk alone." Ichigo watched Yuzu as she turned around and started back in the direction of the stairs.

She hesitated, then looked over her shoulder, "Ichigo, I'm part of your family. You can trust me." She sprinted up the stairs and towards her and Karin's room. After a few seconds the door slammed.

"Quite a caring girl, isn't she?" Shinji's face was spread wide with a smirk. "It's a shame she thinks you don't trust her."

"What do you want, Shinji?" Ichigo was becoming annoyed with Shinji's attitude. He hated seeing Yuzu the way she was and he was making it worse. Ichigo knew he needed to apologize to Yuzu.

"I came to tell you some information that I think you will find quite interesting." The tone in Shinji's voice sounded devious. "You may have noticed that your friend Orihime is missing."

Ichigo's eyes widened. Shinji did know something about Orihime's disappearance! "What did you do to her?"

"Oh, nothing...Yet."

"What's going on? Why are you after her?"

"We're not after her, we're after you. We want you to join us, Ichigo. Join us, and we'll let her go."

"But, how..."

"Yes, you're probably wondering about the complications with the door of her house and everything. Well, it's simple. We kidnapped her, then broke into her house to confuse your friends. We didn't want anyone to know the truth but you."

"What will you do to her if I don't join?"

"Let me explain everything. First, we are giving you a day to decide. If you say no, we kill the girl. If you say yes, we return the girl to her home and you come with us. You say goodbye to all of your friends and your family, and you never see them again."

"And they all remain perfectly safe?"

"Well, we don't harm them."

"What do you..."

"You've got one day, Ichigo Kurosaki, one day." And with that, Shinji Hirako was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ichigo ignored the pounding on his window. He knew it was Rukia, and that she wanted to talk to him, but he didn't care. He had too many things to think about.

"Ichigo, open up!" Rukia's voice was muffled through the glass. She looked irritated. "Why won't you talk to me? I haven't seen you since we left Orihime's house, so what happened between then and now to make you act like this?"

Ichigo wasn't paying any attention to Rukia's babbling. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, back turned to the window. _I have to join them if I want Orihime back safely, _he thought, _I have no other choice. _Ichigo glanced at the clock on his desk._ I only have five hours left to decide!_

_ "_That's it, Ichigo! You give me no choice!" Rukia stopped pounding on the window and went away.

A few minutes later, the front doorbell rang.

"I'll get it, Ichigo!" Yuzu had been upset during Ichigo's conversation with Shinji. After Shinji had left, Ichigo had gone up to apologize to her. She had been sitting on her bed, teary-eyed. Ichigo had explained that Shinji was just a distant friend from school and there was nothing to worry about. After that, she acted like it never happened.

Ichigo could hear someone talking down below, but he couldn't make out who it was. After a few minutes his door creaked open.

"Go away." Rukia had come back, now in her gigai. She had come to the door and Yuzu had let her in.

"Not until you tell me what's going on, Ichigo. What happened?"

"Nothing, I need to think now, go."

"Don't make me get Renji, Chad, and Uryu."

"Please go now."

"Are you upset because you found out more about Orihime?"

"...No. Because I didn't." Ichigo didn't want Rukia to know what was going on. Shinji didn't want her or anyone else to either. He felt bad about lying to her, but it was for her own protection.

"Then what's going on with you? Is her disappearance upsetting you? We'll find her, you don't need to be upset."

"I'm not upset, I know we'll find her." _I've already found her, _Ichigo thought, _I just need to figure out how to get her back._

Rukia stepped towards him, her face held a look of concern. He knew what was coming. She would tell him he could trust her, just like Yuzu did. And he'd have to ignore her help. His words would hurt her.

_**SMACK!**_

Ichigo rubbed his hand across his cheek. Rukia had done the exact opposite of what he was expecting.

"What was that for!"

"You won't tell me what's going on. I'll keep doing it until you tell me.

Her hand lashed out to hit him again, but he reached his hand up and caught it inches before his face. "Don't do it again."

Ichigo let go of Rukia's hand. She let it drop to her waist, then just stared at him. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, he couldn't read the expression on her face. It was blank.

"Alright, Ichigo." She turned and started walking. When she reached the door she turned around. "If you want to keep secrets from your friends, it's fine by me. I just thought it was important for friends to stay strong and together through tough times."

With that, she turned around and walked out the door, leaving Ichigo alone. He could hear her feet plodding softly along the carpet in the hallway.

_She's right, _thought Ichigo, _We are supposed to stick together and I'm keeping secrets. But it's for everyone's safety. If I tell her, and the vizards find out I did, they might do something to her as well as Orihime. But she deserves to know, and she can help me widen my options on what to do._

Ichigo heard Rukia's foot fall on the first step. She started descending the stairs. _If I don't tell her now, she'll leave. I won't get another chance to talk to her again before tonight._

"Rukia." Ichigo's voice was a whisper, but she heard him. She came back into the room. "I'll tell you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ichigo stared hard at the wooden panel of his bedroom closet. He tried not to listen to Rukia. She was having a hard time absorbing the news. She had seemed fine during his story.

Rukia had sat down at his desk to hear what he had to say. She hadn't interrupted or even looked shocked or surprised. She was completely focused. Ichigo had started off when he was in his room after going to Orihime's house. He had gone through everything from then till when Rukia showed up again. When he was finished he turned towards the closet and waited for her response.

She was shouting now.

"Ichigo, why didn't you tell me sooner! We only have a few hours left! We could have gotten advice from Urahara and the Soul Society! What are we going to do!"

She was making him feel really guilty. And she was wasting time shouting at him. There was a little over four hours left. They needed to do something soon, or time would run out.

"Well, Ichigo, I'm going to see Urahara and Yoruichi about this. Stay here for a while, I think you need some time to relax. I'll be back when I get some advice."

Rukia scampered over to the window. She jumped up on the windowsill and was just about to jump out.

"Rukia!"

"What?"

"You're in your gigai! If you jump, you'll hurt yourself!"

"Oh, right."

"And I thought you were supposed to be smart." Ichigo mumbled under his breath.

_**SMACK!**_

"Why'd you smack me, AGAIN?"

"You know why. I heard you."

Rukia walked back over to the door. She turned and waved. "See you later." She turned back to the door and walked out. Ichigo watched her go with unease.

After a few minutes of staring at the open door, Ichigo turned to his window. He looked out, there was Rukia. She was back in her shinigami, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He hoped she wouldn't be back for awhile. He didn't want her to come back too soon. He paused for a while, resting his mind. Suddenly, it came.

Ichigo got up from the bed and tramped over to the desk. It could hardly be called a walk, but he was moping so badly that each step he took felt like a mile. He plopped down in the chair. There was a pencil on the desk, he flicked it and it rolled up against the wall.

Ichigo opened the desk drawer and shuffled things around until he found it. Paper. He took it out and slapped it down on the desk. The pencil was still up against the wall. He gripped it tightly and heard a slight, _**CRACK! **_He released his grip on the pencil, noticing the small crack running up the side.

Ichigo began to write. The pencil cracked more with every letter he wrote. Just seven simple words, that's all they would need to understand. He had made his choice.

He left the note on the desk and took a glance around the room. It was small, but good enough for him. It didn't matter anymore though. Not much did anymore. All he took was his Substitute Soul Reaper badge. That was all that mattered to him now. The ability to protect everyone.

Ichigo glanced at the clock, two hours left. Had it really been that long since Rukia left? He slipped out the doorway, leaving the note behind. _**Don't look for me. Forget about me.**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ichigo flinched as the door squealed shut. He didn't want his family to wake up and see him leaving. Karin and Dad had come home while Ichigo was in his bedroom, but thankfully had gone straight to bed, as well as Yuzu. He left as soon as they were asleep.

The streets were dark and gloomy. They reflected his mood. There wasn't anyone around, but why would they be, it was nighttime after all. Streetlights and fences cast shadows on the concrete sidewalk. It was silent, except for the sound of his footsteps tapping on the sidewalk.

Each house Ichigo passed by was dark, occasionally there would be a light on in a window. He turned onto another street, these houses completely dark. Then he noticed where he was. He stopped on the front lawn, Orihime's house.

Ichigo stared at it for a few moments. Without Orihime it seemed eerie and depressing. He walked up the steps onto the front porch. The door was still bent and he slipped through. He walked to the kitchen, there were still dishes in the sink from before she was kidnapped.

He searched around the room for some paper and found some on the table. He wanted Orihime to know what was going on, if she didn't know already. _**You're safe now, Orihime. You don't need to worry. You'll probably never see me again, so I wanted to say goodbye. The vizards won't come after you again, I'm making sure of that. Goodbye. **_He decided that was good enough. If Orihime was confused, Rukia would explain.

__Ichigo was wasting time. If he kept dawdling she would never be able to receive his note. He had only forty-five minutes left.

He left Orihime's house. He started sprinting, without looking back. He realized the vizards may have switched hideouts since hollow training, but he kept going in the direction of the abandoned factory they were usually in. Shinji hadn't mentioned a switch in location, but he was vague when they talked.

Ichigo turned onto a side street that led to the part of town where the abandoned factory was. He could see it looming in the distance, casting shadows on smaller buildings and objects in the streets. It seemed empty, but he knew they were there. He could feel them.

Ichigo checked his watch, there was still half an hour to go. He slowed his pace and took a few deep breaths. He needed to think about what to do when he got there.

He found that he couldn't concentrate on what to do. His thoughts kept wandering towards his family, his friends, and how he'd probably never see them again. Would they care that he had left? Probably, but they would accept that it was the right thing to do. Hopefully, they would push him to the backs of their minds, and eventually, forget him. It made him hopeful to think that if they forgot him they'd be happier.

Ichigo wasn't really paying attention to his steps, and before he realized it he was in front of the factory. He stood staring at it for a long time, dreading what was to come. He knew once he joined them that was it, no changing his mind. He couldn't now anyway, Orihime needed him to make this decision the right way.

Ichigo took a step towards the factory door, and was instantly thrown back. He should've guessed that they had Hachi put a shield up. He walked up to the shield and placed a hand on it. It was invisible, but he could tell exactly where it was by the spiritual pressure and the way he was thrown back.

"Hey!" Ichigo shouted up to the broken windows. The shield came down and a blonde head popped out of one of the windows. Hiyori.

"Well, well. Ichigo has come after all. We were beginning to think you wouldn't show. Come on in." Her head vanished from the window.

Ichigo walked over to the door and gave a slight push. It creaked open, revealing the inside of the building. It was the same as always, grey, bare, and dirty. Everyone was sitting around, some talking in little groups. Orihime was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Orihime?"

"Downstairs" Shinji was the one who spoke. He was perched on an old wooden beam that had fallen from the ceiling. "Would you like to see her?"

"Yes."

"Well, there are a few conditions." Shinji's mouth widened into a smirk.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"You want me to give you my human body? Why?" Ichigo knew the reason why already, he just wanted to see if he was right. They didn't want him to take Orihime and leave.

"If you leave, you'll have to come back to get your human body. Idiot." Hiyori rolled her eyes and bit her one fang into her lip.

"Fine." Ichigo fished his hand around in his pocket and pulled out his Substitute Soul Reaper badge. For the second time that day he held it to his chest and was a Soul Reaper.

Shinji kicked Ichigo's human body into a corner of the room, behind Lisa and Love. They were reading, like every time Ichigo saw them. He assumed they'd be in charge of his body.

"We also want that." Shinji pointed to the badge in Ichigo's hand. He tossed it to him with some regret, but he had to give it up. "Okay, now you get your wish."

Shinji and Hiyori turned towards the stairs to the underground training center. They had been sealed off, most likely to keep Orihime down there. Hachi stepped over from the side of the room and opened them.

"I will be accompanying her home, no need to worry about her safety." Hachi said. He looked fairly pleased with the job he had been assigned, he enjoyed talking to Orihime about their similar powers.

"After you, Ichigo." Shinji gestured towards the stairs in a big sweeping motion. The grin spreading across his face was irritating to Ichigo.

Ichigo passed between the two of them and then past Hachi. He started descending the stairs, each step bringing him closer to the light streaming in from the end and Orihime.

Many pairs of footsteps followed him down the staircase. Everyone was coming down. Ichigo glanced behind him, Shinji and Hiyori were nearest. Then came Hachi and Rose, next Love and Lisa and Mashiro, and last came Kensei.

Ichigo's feet hit level ground. He looked around. It looked the same as last time, dirt and rocks. Something caught his attention in the distance. It was Orihime, sitting on a small boulder. There was a chain running from her wrist to the ground.

Ichigo ran as fast as he could. His heart was pounding two times as fast as someone normal who was running. The sight of Orihime, and that she was safe, made it beat more.

She looked up as he came closer. Her eyes told him she was frightened and confused, but when she saw him they turned bright. She was wearing her school uniform. Then they had taken her yesterday.

"Ichigo..." She spoke softly, almost as though she was afraid to speak. "What's going on?"

"The Vizar-"

"Ichigo" Shinji put a hand up to silence him. He produced a small key from his pocket and walked to Orihime. There was a small _**click**_ and her wrist was free. He backed up to where he was previously.

"Ichigo!" Orihime jumped up from her seat on the boulder. She ran to him and embraced him, crying into his chest. "You came for me." She whispered, and it sounded as if she were shocked that he did.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Hachi came up behind Orihime. When she saw his shadow looming over Ichigo's shoulder, she clung to him even tighter. Hachi gently rested a large hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from Ichigo.

"I'll be taking you home, Orihime." Hachi smiled down at her, his eyes glowing

with the chance to talk to Orihime about their powers privately. "I hope you're willing to have a conversation. I have a few questions."

She stared up at him with a frightened look. "Can't Ichigo take me?" So they hadn't told her what was going on. She had no idea why she was there, and now they were forcing her to go home without knowing.

"No." Shinji stepped forward. Orihime turned around to face him. As the one word slid out of his mouth her face became even more sullen and gloomy. A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away.

"Why? What's going on? Why won't anyone tell me!" She turned her head and looked at every face in the room, stopping and holding her gaze on Ichigo.

"She deserves to know." Ichigo felt Orihime's eyes boring into his. He couldn't believe they hadn't told her when she was such a big part of it. "Can I tell her?"

"No, she'll know soon enough anyway." Shinji said. "Hachi will tell her on the way."

Hachi started dragging Orihime towards the stairs and everyone followed. Ichigo started making his way to the stairs as well, but he was stopped.

"Ichigo, stay down here." Hiyori scowled at him, her pointed tooth jutting out over her lip. "We'll come get you after Hachi comes back."

She motioned to Hachi, who put up a barrier around Ichigo. They didn't trust him to sit quietly while they were gone. The barrier wouldn't allow him to go anywhere.

Ichigo watched as they ascended the stairs, wishing he could come with them. As he watched, Orihime kept glancing back at him. She looked unsure about something and she hesitated every few steps. Every now and then Hachi had to softly poke her back to keep her moving.

They went up so far that Ichigo could no longer see them. He began to look around the barren training room, purely out of boredom and nerves. There was nothing to look at, so he looked back towards the stairs. Everyone had gone upstairs.

A few minutes passed, and the silence was dragging Ichigo down into the abyss of solemnness. The place seemed eerie with no one else there. He sat down and stared at the ground.

After what felt like a long time Ichigo began to wonder when they were coming back. Maybe they were just going to leave him down there as a form of torture. He would be completely cut off from the rest of the world, including his friends. He knew deep inside that he would be cut off from the world even if they came back, but he would still be able to move freely rather than sit inside a barrier for the rest of his life.

A muffled sound came from upstairs, and then a shout. Some kind of fight was taking place. Ichigo tried to listen, but the voices were muffled. He could barely hear what he thought was Shinji's voice shouting out something. Something about Ichigo, he could hear his name being called. He heard Hiyori scream back at him, and then silence. Then footsteps, and the _**creak**_ of the giant door to the training center opening.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Something rolled down the stairs and landed in an odd fashion at the bottom. Ichigo pressed his face to the wall of the barrier to get a better glimpse of what it was. After a few moments of staring at the thing at the bottom of the stairs with wonder, he realized it was his human body.

Ichigo fell forward flat onto his face. Hachi had taken the barrier down. He sat up and felt his nose for blood. None. So, Ichigo stood up and trekked over to his body. A little flash of light, then he was a human again.

As Ichigo got up, he noticed that his Substitute Soul Reaper badge was on the ground where his body had been. He picked it up and dropped it back into his pocket. He glanced up at the top of the stairs. He figured it was worth a shot to try opening the door.

Ichigo sprinted up the stairs and pulled at the handle. Surprisingly it opened, and he stepped out into the cold air of the abandoned factory. Hachi was back and everyone was sitting on the ground in a circle. They were talking in low voices, and then they noticed Ichigo. Their low voices turned into whispers. He stood by the door to the training center and watched them for a few minutes.

Then Ichigo had an idea. He knew it was a really stupid idea and that it wouldn't work, but he wanted to see what the vizards would do. He slowly and loudly walked over to the door of the factory and turned, they hadn't noticed and were still whispering. Ichigo opened the door and walked out.

_**I made it out of there. The vizards didn't even care, **_Ichigo's mind was reeling. The whole reason why they had kidnapped Orihime was to get him to join them, and now they were just letting him go? He wasn't expecting them to even let him out of the training center.

Suddenly, Ichigo realized something wasn't right. The vizards _wouldn't_ let him go so easily. He stretched a hand out in front of him and it brushed against something that wasn't there. Hachi's barrier. He was stupid to think they'd forgotten about him. They knew all along what he was doing and that he couldn't get farther away then a few feet from the door of the factory.

His anger got the best of him at that moment, and he started lashing out at the invisible wall in front of him. He knew he couldn't break it with his human punches alone, but he was too angry to care. He would never see his friends again. But, of course, he already knew that.

Ichigo turned his back to Hachi's barrier and slid to the ground. He leaned against the barrier with his head in his hands for at least a minute, calming down and clearing his mind. The fact that this had happened wouldn't sink into his mind, no matter how hard he tried to believe he would never see anyone he wanted to protect again.

A dark shadow passed over Ichigo's face from behind, standing out under the moonlight. He stood and turned back to the invisible wall, staring out from behind the confines of nothing. All he could see was shadow, from buildings and things in the street. Then a face appeared from the darkest corner, a very familiar face.

The face came closer, and a body after that. A hand reached up and laid it's fingertips against the barrier. Ichigo reached up to the barrier and placed his fingertips identically to the ones already there.

The only person besides Hachi who knew this barrier was here without feeling for it. Orihime Inoue.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ichigo awoke to the bright early morning sunlight streaming into his eyes. The side of his face was pressed against the invisible barrier, his fingertips still where they were the night before.

He pulled away from the barrier and looked at where Orihime was the night before. Like him, she was in the same spot she was then. Her head was resting softly on the barrier and her eyes were closed. Her breathing was deep and slow. She was still asleep.

Her eyes fluttered open and she turned to look at him. He stayed looking at her. Their hands stayed where they were. It seemed to Ichigo that they stayed like that for a lifetime.

Suddenly Ichigo heard footsteps coming from behind him. Then a hand was placed firmly on his shoulder, and it gave him a slight tug. Orihime broke her stare at Ichigo to look up at the owner of the hand.

"Shinji." Orihime's voice was muffled by the barrier, but it was just audible enough to make out what she was saying. As she said this Ichigo turned around, dropping his hand from the barrier in the process, to see the face the hand belonged to.

Orihime dropped her hand as well, then stood up. Ichigo stood up and stared into Shinji's eyes. "What do you want, Shinji? You guys didn't want anything from me when I wasn't busy." He was angry that they chose this time to find some use for him.

Shinji smiled at what Ichigo had to say. "It's time to say goodbye, Ichigo." He gestured at Orihime with a jerk of his thumb. She waved goodbye with a little wiggle of her fingertips.

As she slipped away into the shadows, Ichigo noticed a small white slip of paper drop from her hand. It landed right next to the barrier wall, it's message facing up. Apparently, Shinji noticed it too, because he turned and walked back into the factory. A few seconds later the barrier went down. Ichigo leaned down and picked up the delicate paper, slipping it into his pocket. He was just about to make an escape when the barrier was put into place again.

Ichigo ran headfirst into the invisible wall, ramming his face up against it. He fell back onto the ground, landing flat on his back and groaning with pain. He sat up, rubbing his face and thinking, _**Why would I try something so stupid like that? I should have known that they wouldn't let their guard down for a split second. **_He looked out into the darkness that was created from the many shadows on the narrow street. For only a second, he thought he saw a pair of eyes lurking there, watching him. Could those eyes have been Orihime? Or had they just been Ichigo's imagination?

Thinking of Orihime, Ichigo took out the note that she had dropped. He just looked at it, not reading it, for what seemed like ages. He didn't know if he wanted to read it. _**Who knows what's written there, or who it's from for that matter, **_He thought, _**Just because Orihime delivered it doesn't mean that she wrote it.**_

Unfortunately, Ichigo had no more time to ponder the possibilities. As Shinji's steps grew closer, Ichigo slipped the note back into his pocket. He didn't want to read it in the presence of one of the vizards. Shinji reached out a hand to Ichigo, as he was still sitting on the ground from his incident with the barrier. He took it, and Shinji pulled him up.

Shinji led Ichigo back to the doors of the factory and they slipped inside. The other vizards were all still in their whisper circle. Although, it didn't look like they would be continuing the conversation in whispered voices. Their heads turned in the direction of the door at the sound of it's rusty, old hinges creaking. They gestured for Ichigo and Shinji to come and join them.

As the two walked over, Hiyori spoke. "Oh, Ichigo. Were you beginning to get bored, just waiting around for us to decide on what to do with you?" She snickered under her breath, just barely audible enough for Ichigo to hear.

"Why did you want me so desperately if you didn't need me? Or know what to do with me?" The vizards had gone to such great lengths to get Ichigo, and were now telling him they had no purpose for him?

"Oh, Ichigo..." Hiyori sighed, "You're so stupid. What do you think we've been talking about in this little circle since last night? We've got a purpose for you, of course we do."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Ichigo was once again in the underground training center, and was once again sitting on the rock he had sat on before. The vizards had sent him back down there after they had talked with him about his "purpose" for joining them.

Ichigo had the tiny slip of paper in his hand, writing facing down. He still hadn't read it, and was debating on wether he should. Finally curiosity got the better of him. He flipped the paper over and began to read.

_**Ichigo, YOU DUMBASS! There were tens of thousands of possible ways to handle this situation. Out of all of those, you chose one of the worst. You really are stupid. **_This was definitely Rukia's writing. _**So, what the hell were you thinking? How are you going to get out of there? I'm not going to help you, you idiot. But I imagine everyone else is trying to come up with a plan to get you out. If you get out I'm going to smack you so hard that you'll have problems remembering your own name. Just get out alive, ok? DUMBASS! Sincerely, Rukia.**_

__Ichigo wasn't suprised at what Rukia had written in the note. She was known to act like that when she was mad. But would he really ever get out of the prison the vizards had made for him? Were his friends really trying to rescue him? He had told them to forget about him in the note he had left on his desk. But how many of his friends had read the note or even known that it existed? Maybe his dad, or Rukia, had found it and taken it. And then just explained what had happened to him without telling about the things he had said in the note? He didn't know, but he had to assume that everyone had read it.

Suddenly, Ichigo heard a creak and a ray of sunlight crept into the training center. He turned his head in the direction of the sunlight to find Shinji and Hiyori standing on the stairs with the door slightly ajar and letting in sunlight behind them.

"Are you ready to complete your purpose for being here?" Hiyori asked, jutting out her single pointed tooth from her lip. She started descending the stairs, dragging Shinji along with her. "Because we're ready." She said as she reached the last step, Shinji still in tow.

The "purpose" that Ichigo had for being there, as the vizards had told him, was to test how long he could withstand the strain of the hollow powers he had as a vizard. They planned on giving him challenge upon challenge until he either died or was taken complete control of by his inner hollow. Basically, they were assigning him a suicide mission.

"I'm ready" Ichigo said, but really he was nowhere close to being ready. He didn't want to be a test subject for the vizards, just so they could find out how long they could go without hurting themselves. And he wasn't sure the "test results" would be accurate. Everyone is different, and it's most likely the same way with the their limits of control.

But Ichigo knew that if he tried to tell them that, they'd just shrug it off and keep going. It wasn't worth it to try. So when Hiyori strode up to him and handed him his Substitute Soul Reaper Badge, he took it and became a shinigami. And when Hachi came down to seal Ichigo in a force field to begin the challenges, he let him. And, after all the vizards had gathered to watch the challenges, when he was instructed to put on his hollow mask, he did. Then the first challenge began.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Ichigo was so tired, his body ached all the way to the bone. He couldn't tell how much time had passed since he began the first challenge. The light in the training center didn't change, and there was no sense of time. He felt like he had been fighting for hours.

"Okay, Ichigo!" Hiyori yelled through the barrier. "Challenge number thirty seven starts in fourty seconds!"She looked extremely happy when she said this. She really was a heartless person.

_**How many challenges are there?**_Ichigo thought to himself. His face, under his hollow mask, was covered in a mix of sweat, blood, and grime. His mask itself was, too. His shihakusho was torn in some places and completely drenched in blood and sweat. A lot of the blood was his, but most of it was the blood of his opponents.

The opponents were all sorts of creatures, ones Ichigo had never seen before, and ones he had seen. They weren't real, they were models of the real ones. The models had been created by Kisuke when he was Head of Research and Development in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. They were left there when he went into hiding in Karakura Town. There seemed to be a never ending amount of them fighting Ichigo.

"Hey!" Ichigo yelled, his mask effecting his voice, making it raspy and hollow sounding. Everyone looked up from what they were doing, mostly talking in huddled groups. "How long have I been fighting?"

"Eighteen hours!" Shinji yelled back, glancing at the stopwatch in his hand. "Depending on if you finish the rest of the challenges and how long it takes you, I'm estimating a couple of days more fighting."

"Nonstop?" Ichigo screamed as creatures started forming inside the barriers. In the last couple of challenges the size of them had gotten bigger, as well as the number of them.

"Of course, nonstop!" Shinji yelled back. "But we don't expect you to last that long, it's almost impossible! We vizards can barely keep our masks on for a few minutes to get the full effect! But you're different, we want to see how long you'll last! You will give us an estimate of how long we can last with our masks, if we really try!"

Ichigo started slashing away at the creatures. This challenge had the biggest number of them yet, and most, if not all of them, were half the size of a Menos Grande. Even though they were half the size they were ten times the power.

Ichigo cut down the last of the creatures, then collapsed in a heap on the ground. He had been battling creatures like this for longer than he had thought. As Ichigo was catching his breath, one of the walls of the barrier vanished. Lisa came over to Ichigo and dropped something in front of him, then walked back to the other side of the barrier as it reappeared.

Ichigo looked down to examine what she had given him. Food and water. Ichigo realized just how ravenous he was. The vizards hadn't given him any food in the last eighteen hours, and he hadn't eaten since the night before Rukia was supposed to leave for the Soul Society. He started in on the food, and after a minute it was gone. He was still hungry afterwards, but he felt slightly renewed and stronger.

"Thirty eight now!" Shinji yelled as Ichigo stood up again. Monsters started forming on one side of the closed in "challenge box", then seemed to be molding together and forming one large, black mass. It loomed over Ichigo, it's head almost touching the ceiling of the training center.

The giant creature had no face, but a hole where the face should be. Ichigo could see right through the hole to the barrier wall behind it. Suddenly, beams of purple light shot out from the edges of the hole and met in the middle in a circle. The circle seemed to be growing in size, and soon enough it had filled up all of the space inside of the hole. The color of the circle changed to red, and it shot out and away from the monster, coming towards Ichigo.

Ichigo jumped out of the way, using flash step, and turned to look at where he had been standing. There was now a massive, steaming crater filled to the brim with a orangey red liquid that looked like lava. Ichigo turned back to the monster, noticing that purple beams were beginning to form again. He leapt into the air and began flash stepping his way towards the monster. He needed to get a closer look at the creature's head, but he needed to stay away from that beam.

As he got closer, he realized that the creature could do the exact same thing on the other side of it's hole. In fact, it looked as if it had to fire beams from both sides at the same time. Ichigo landed on what seemed to be the creature's shoulder. He dug his zanpakutointo it to keep himself on. It was a good idea, the creature tried to wipe him off, but he stayed on.

_**What is this thing? **_Ichigo wondered, _**What are it's weaknesses, how can I defeat it? **_On closer inspection, Ichigo could see that when the purple beams met, before forming a circle, there was a tiny pocket of air. In the pocket there seemed to be a moving object of some sort. _**What is that? Maybe it controls where the creature aims. If I time myself perfectly, I might be able to jump up there and hit that thing without getting blasted by the beam. I don't have any better ideas.**_

__ Although Ichigo was getting worn out, and felt he had been inching ever closer to loosing control of his hollow powers, he knew he had enough energy to muster one more solid Getsuga Tenshou. So, Ichigo tugged his bankai out of the creature's shoulder and flash stepped his way up to the side of the monster's head.

_**Okay, **_Ichigo thought, _**I only get one shot. If I fail I'm either dead or severely burned by lava. **_He took a deep breath and, just as the purple beams began to form, he jumped.

"GETSUGA... TENSHOU!" Ichigo screamed. The hollow-modified reddish black wave rippled out of his zanpakuto and hit the moving object spot on.

_** FWISHHH-BOOM! **_

__ The object blew up with a swishing sound, which triggered the booming explosion of the creature itself. The object wasn't just for controlling aim, but the whole body as well. Ichigo realized just what it was, a brain. The force of the explosion knocked Ichigo out of the air. He lay on the ground, staring up at the ceiling, watching the pieces of monster rain down.

Ichigo sat up just in time to see another explosion, outside of the barrier. The vizards turned around in a panic to see what it was. As the dust cleared, Ichigo could vaguely see five figures standing at the top of the stairs, then his vision went black and the hollow took control.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The new world finally came into focus for _his_ inner hollow. He had been crammed up inside _him_ for so long that he couldn't remember the last time he was out. As he peered through the eyes of his _king_, he noticed that the was sitting on the ground inside a barrier. On the other side of the barrier there were two large groups of people.

The farther away group he recognized immediately. They were _his_ friends. Hatred burned inside him like fire. Those people kept him from staying in control, the horse riding his _king_. They strengthened _him_ against the hollow powers, with "true friendship" nonsense. He tried to remember their names, the two girls were Rukia and Orihime, the three boys were Chad, Renji, and Uryu.

The nearer group he could also identify. They were the people like _him_, half hollow and half soul reaper. In _his_ case it would be one third human, one third hollow, and one third soul reaper. These people had trained _him_ to resist him as well, but only through fighting. These people were hated by him as well.

As the hatred accumulated inside of him, he let out a deafening roar and formed a blood red cero. He fired it towards the barrier wall, and the wall shattered. The groups of people had been arguing with each other, some from the further group looking concernedly in his direction. When the wall shattered, everyone stopped. This was his opportunity.

He formed another cero and shot it towards the nearer group. They dodged just in time, each person jumping a different way. In the space they had been standing was a large, steaming crater. Everyone stood still, watching him and waiting for his next move.

He began to think and plan out the best way to get rid of these annoying people. _**It might be easier if I get rid of the group farther away, they give **__him__** strength to resist me. But it also may be easier to get rid of the nearer group because they know exactly how to fight me. If I got them taken care of, the rest of them would be gone in a second. Then I'd have an easier time taking over **__him__**.**_

__Without another thought, he charged towards the nearer group and began the forming of a cero. He paid no attention to the group on the stairs, and didn't even glance their way.

The cero became fully formed. He was just about to fire it at them when he felt something wrap around his chest. He looked down to see two sets of arms clinging to him, and the cero flickered out. The two girls, Rukia and Orihime, were clinging onto him for dear life, trying to control him and bring _him_ back.

His sight faded into darkness as he heard someone speak inside of him. The someone was _him_. _**"You cannot control me any longer! You don't deserve a place in this world, to wreak havoc and chaos and torment! I am not what you're trying to make me become! I am not a monster! GET OUT OF ME!" **_

__Rukia and Orihime watched as the hollowfied Ichigo collapsed into their arms. They held him tight as he began to return to normal. The pieces of his mask cracked off and vanished, leaving only Ichigo in their place. His shihakusho was completely gone on the upper half of his body, which was covered in blood. They didn't want to know whose blood it was.

They set him down on the ground as everyone gathered around them. As his heavy breathing returned to normal, Rukia turned to the nearest vizard, Hiyori. "You vizards are such IDIOTS! He almost died! His hollow almost took control! How stupid can you be? I mean, this is ju-"

"Rukia, stop yelling at them, you're giving me a headache." She stopped mid-sentence and everyone turned around. Ichigo was just sitting there, his head propped up on his elbow, looking at her. "Besides, it was a hell of a good training session." Everyone stood with their mouths open in astonishment.

"Um, Ichigo, could you lie back down? You're kinda bleeding... a lot." Orihime told him while gently pushing him back down. "It's easier for me to heal you when you're not moving around."

As Orihime began the healing process, Shinji started to speak. "Well, this compromises our data. We need to know how long he can last before turning hollow _permanently._ Hey, Hachi! Fix the barrier! Make it a really strong one, we don't want something like this happening aga-"

"No!" Rukia and Orihime screamed at the same time. Orihime expanded her Santen Keshun until it was surrounding not only Ichigo, but all of his friends as well.

"There's no way you can get to us now," She said, "So you might as well forget about this and let Ichigo go home."

"Silly girl," Hachi spoke, coming up to the edge of her barrier, " Do you honestly think I can't break this? It's child's play."

He reached out and tapped on the barrier, it having no effect on him at all. A crack formed, then slowly spread across the surface of the barrier. there was a final, earsplitting _**crack!**_ and the barrier shattered. The pieces that remained were called back to Orihime's hairpins. He walked forward, stopping at Ichigo's head.

"I don't agree with Shinji that this should go on any longer." He turned to face the rest of the vizards. "Do any of you feel the same?" Slowly everyone came to a agreement, all saying that Hachi was right. All except Shinji and Hiyori. "Then it's settled. You may go."

Shinji watched in disbelief as _his_ _own_ team members calmly let Ichigo go. "You don't want to know what your powers' limits are?"

"No. We lose control when we lose control," was the group response.

As the vizards watched quietly, Rukia and Orihime helped Ichigo to his feet and the group proceeded to the stairway, Ichigo happy that his friends were safe and that he could still live his life with them


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

A few days had passed since Ichigo had returned home. The minute he had gotten to his room he collapsed on the bed and slept for a full two days, never waking for food. Now he was fairly rested and his injuries were quickly healing.

Orihime had never finished healing his injuries in the training center, and once he fell asleep at home, she never got the chance to. Besides, to Ichigo, they were healing just fine on their own.

Usually once a day one of his friends came knocking on his window to talk. Most of the time it was Rukia or Orihime, occasionally it was both. Orihime asked to hear stories of the training, while Rukia wanted to discuss how to improve battle tactics.

Now Ichigo was waiting for them to show up. They usually came about the same time every day, to give him some time to sleep. He saw them coming from the window, but this time it was more than just Orihime and Rukia, they had brought Chad, Uryu, and Renji.

"Hey Ichigo!" Rukia called to him, "This time you're coming outside!"

Ichigo slipped on his shoes and went to greet them outside. "Why did you want me to come out?"

"We're taking you to the town carnival. You need to have some fun! We can go on all sorts of rides, and get yummy food, and do lots of fun activites!" Orihime squealed, "Come on! We don't have time to waste!"

She ran down the street, in the direction of the fair, turning back every now and then to make sure they were coming. Finally she turned and yelled for them to hurry up, then began skipping, waiting for them to catch up. So everyone began running, tripping over each other and laughing, while the sun slowly set on another precious day of their life together


End file.
